Revelation, February 1829
[D&C 4]

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

copied this text into Revelation Book 1, he
included this heading: “A Revelation to Joseph the Father of the Seer he desired to
know what the Lord had for him to do & this is what he Received as follows.”
Revelation Book 1 initially gave the date of 1828. An
unidentified scribe wrote a “9” over the “8,” thus changing the date from 1828 to 1829, apparently
correcting a scribal error. The index to Revelation Book 1 also lists 1829 as the date of the revelation. Sidney
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

, likely in late
1831, added “Febr.” to
the heading in Revelation Book 1 to further specify the date.1

Revelation Book 1, pp. 2, [207].
It is not clear who changed the “8” to a “9.” Whitmer may have corrected his initial
mistake, or Sidney Rigdon may have made the change when he inserted the month.

The copy featured below is a more complete and probably an earlier version than that
inscribed in Revelation Book 1, which is missing the page that includes the final
portion of this revelation. The version below is in the handwriting of Edward
Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

and was kept by him. Partridge dated the document to 1829, a date also used in JS’s history.2

JS History, vol. A-1, 11.
An 1828 date is also unlikely for other historical
and textual reasons. Joseph Smith Sr. made his only known 1828 visit to Harmony around September, and neither
JS nor Lucy Mack Smith made any mention of a revelation for
Joseph Sr. being dictated at that time. In addition, the language of this
revelation is much more similar to several 1829 texts
than to the only surviving JS revelation from 1828. (Lucy Mack Smith, History,
1844–1845, bk. 7, [8], [11]; Revelation, July
1828 [D&C 3].)

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

Area settled, beginning 1785. Formed from Windsor Township, Apr. 1821. Population in 1830 about 2,400. Villages within township included Harpursville, Nineveh, and Colesville. Susquehanna River ran through eastern portion of township. JS worked for Joseph...

. “I told him [Joseph Smith Sr.] they
had traviled far enough,” Knight wrote, “[and] I
would go with my sley and take them Down [to
Harmony

Located in northeastern Pennsylvania. Area settled, by 1787. Organized 1809. Population in 1830 about 340. Population in 1840 about 520. Contained Harmony village (no longer in existence). Josiah Stowell hired JS to help look for treasure in area, Oct. 1825...

]
to morrow[.] I went Down and found them well and
the[y] were glad to see us[.] we conversed about many things. in the morning I gave
the old man a half a Dollar and Joseph a little money to Buoy
[buy] paper to translate.”3

To produce a text from one written in another language; in JS’s usage, most often through divine means. JS considered the ability to translate to be a gift of the spirit, like the gift of interpreting tongues. He recounted that he translated “reformed Egyptian...

since June 1828,
and Knight’s provision of paper may have allowed him to resume translation.
Within weeks of Knight’s visit, JS began translating again, with Emma, Samuel,
and Martin
Harris

18 May 1783–10 July 1875. Farmer. Born at Easton, Albany Co., New York. Son of Nathan Harris and Rhoda Lapham. Moved with parents to area of Swift’s landing (later in Palmyra), Ontario Co., New York, 1793. Married first his first cousin Lucy Harris, 27 Mar...

Skousen, Royal, ed. The Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon:
Typographical Facsimile of the Extant Text. Provo, UT: Foundation for
Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University, 2001.

Dictated shortly before the translation work resumed, this revelation spoke of a
“marvelous work” about to come forth and added that the “field is white already to
harvest.” These phrases, also used in several JS revelations in the spring of 1829, invoked a sense of
urgency and an impending spiritual harvest.5

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

acted upon this revelation is unknown, but his call “to the
work” may have had a significant immediate impact when he returned to
Palmyra

Known as Swift’s Landing and Tolland before being renamed Palmyra, 1796. Incorporated, Mar. 1827, two years after completion of adjacent Erie Canal. Population in 1820 about 3,700. Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith family lived in village briefly, beginning ...

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

Settled 1793. Formed as Burt Township when divided from Farmington Township, 31 Mar. 1821. Name changed to Manchester, 16 Apr. 1822. Included village of Manchester. Population in 1825 about 2,700. Population in 1830 about 2,800. JS reported first vision of...

, New York,
district late in the fall of
1828. Lucy wrote that although Cowdery had questioned Joseph Sr. about
the gold
plates

A record engraved on gold plates, which JS translated and published as the Book of Mormon. The text explained that the plates were an abridgement of other ancient records and were written by an American prophet named Mormon and his son Moroni. The plates ...

, he “did not succeed in eliciting any information” for “a long
time.” This revelation may have prompted Joseph Sr. to share a “sketch of the
facts which related to the plates” with Cowdery, who became convinced that he
had been called by God to assist
JS as his scribe.6

Located in northeastern Pennsylvania. Area settled, by 1787. Organized 1809. Population in 1830 about 340. Population in 1840 about 520. Contained Harmony village (no longer in existence). Josiah Stowell hired JS to help look for treasure in area, Oct. 1825...

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

in what likely would have been an eight-leaf
collection of sacred writings. The extant collection contains a copy of the Old Testament
revision by JS.1

The
eight-leaf collection is missing the first four leaves, which would have
contained the first several chapters of the Old Testament revision. The extant
pages begin abruptly with current Moses 6:21 and finish with the material
corresponding with Genesis 9:16. Factoring in the average word count per page
for the extant portion of the Bible revision and counting the total number of
words of the missing portion shows that the text would have likely fit on four
leaves, or eight pages. In addition, sewing marks on the four extant leaves
may indicate that at least four additional leaves existed as conjugate leaves.
Finally, the last leaf bears the marks of wear common on exposed leaves in a
folded packet, indicating that it likely was the final leaf. (See Old Testament Revision
1, pp. 12–21, 23–24 [Moses 6:21–8:30; Joseph Smith Translation,
Genesis 9:1–16].)

Immediately following the Old Testament material is a
copy of Revelation,
August 1830 [D&C 27], followed by the featured revelation published
below. Also in the same collection, a damaged leaf, apparently separate from
this early notebook, contains Revelation, 6 April 1830 [D&C 21]; Revelation, September
1830–F [D&C 31]; and Revelation, October 1830–B [D&C 33]. Only four leaves
of the likely original eight leaves are extant. A full leaf measures 12⅝ × 7⅝
inches (32 × 19 cm); the top quarter of the final leaf is missing.

Physical
evidence links these revelations to other papers that were in possession of the
Partridge family until at least the mid-1880s, sometime after which they came
into the possession of the Church Historian’s Office.2

Some of
Partridge’s personal papers came into the Church
Historian’s Office piecemeal. This item was part of a group of materials
published by the family in 1884 that all have similar physical damage not found
on earlier manuscripts donated to the Church Historian’s Office, likely
indicating that the papers were kept and donated separately. (See
Orson F. Whitney, “The
Aaronic Priesthood,” Contributor, Oct. 1884,
6:1–9.)

No explicit
copy date was written on the extant portion of the manuscript. If this was an
assemblage of texts copied by
Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

French explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut Western...

neighbors,
the copies could have been made as early as December
1830. However, the Old Testament material that Partridge copied may not
have been created until early
1831, pushing forward the creation date of these documents. It seems
likely, given the material copied, that these copies were made shortly after
the documents were created in late
1830 or early 1831. If the version featured below was penned in the
spring of 1831, both this
version and the version found in
Revelation Book
1 would have been created about the same time. This version is featured
rather than the Revelation Book 1 version because the page in Revelation Book 1
on which this revelation concludes was removed from that volume at some point
and is no longer extant. The text of the revelation found in the Partridge
manuscript, therefore, is the earliest complete, extant
version.